Occupational therapy equipment

We can give advice and information to help you stay as independent as possible. This could include advice about equipment and alterations to your home to help you and your carer manage more easily.

We may be able to help you if you:

normally live in Somerset

have difficulty managing everyday tasks due to physical disability or illness, or

are a carer.

You can buy some equipment that might help you from local shops. There are also some voluntary organisations and private providers that sell equipment for disabled people. We can tell you more about this if you contact us.

To ask for an Occupational Therapy assessment, equipment or assistance phone us on 0300 123 2224.

We will talk with you to understand what could help you. We may be able to give you advice and information on the phone. Sometimes, someone from the Occupational Therapy Team may need to come and see you to make sure we give you the best advice. This is called an assessment.

If your assessment shows that you need equipment, for example, a hoist and sling or minor works such as stair rails, then we will provide them free of charge.

You may need major alterations to your home such as putting in a stair-lift or wet-floor shower. We will ask the District Council to consider you for a Disabled Facilities Grant. They will ask you for information about your finances and you may have to pay towards the cost of the work. Adaptations that can be considered for a Disabled Facilities Grant include:

Access - widening doorways for wheelchairs

Bathroom adaptations

Fixed overhead hoists

Lifts - stairlift or through-floor lifts

General alterations including permanent ramps

Please contact us if you would like to know more.

RepairsIf the equipment you have on loan needs to be repaired, please contact us.

Returning equipmentWhen the equipment we have given you is no longer needed, please contact us to arrange for its return. You can do this by phoning us on 0300 123 2224.

Assistive technologyWould you be surprised to know that you use assistive technology already in everyday life? It comes in the form of devices to alert us when:

it's time to get up - alarm clocks

there is smoke in the house- smoke detectors

there's someone at the door- door bell

there's a call for you- phones and mobiles

and there are plenty more examples

The Government is committed to encouraging organisations, such as health and social care departments, to develop the use of this type of technology to support the more vulnerable to live in the community for longer.

The aim is to give people more choice and control over how they live their lives and the risks they are able to take.

If you would like to talk someone, call your local Community Alarm Service provider for further information about telecare sensors and the relevant charges; some of them may be free-of-charge.

The person who the adaptations are for must have a substantial and permanent disability or be registered disabled.

The applicant must be either the owner of the property or be a tenant (including licensees) and be able to provide the local authority with the necessary 'owner's certificate' or 'tenant's certificate'. This will not necessarily be the disabled person for whom the works are required. In such cases the applicant should make it clear on whose behalf the application is being made.

A landlord may apply on behalf of a disabled tenant.

When applying for a grant, the applicant, whether an owner-occupier, tenant or landlord, will be asked to sign a certificate stating the intention that throughout the grant condition period, currently five years, (or a shorter period if the disabled person's health and other relevent circumstances permit) the disabled person will occupy the dwelling as their main residence.

When the application for a grant is submitted, the District Council will need to check that the proposed works are necessary and appropriate to meet the disabled person's needs. This will be done through consultation with your Occupational Therapist following an assessment of your needs under the Fair Access to Care Services criteria.

The District Council will also need to check that the work is reasonable and practicable, depending on the age and condition of the property.